


Apples and Oranges

by Tochira



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen, Gen Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-11-02
Updated: 2004-11-02
Packaged: 2017-11-20 07:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/582999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tochira/pseuds/Tochira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanzo had made it halfway around the veranda towards his office when he happened to glance down at the orchards, and noticed a small figure crouched under one of the apple trees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Apples and Oranges

**Author's Note:**

> Pre-series. This was for jantalaimon's Drabble-A-Day challenge, 'hoarfrost'. Obviously it got away from me a little.

The sunlight had been slanting lower for the last few weeks, but it was early still for the cold snap that had come the night before. Sanzo woke rigid with the chill, his breath visible in the clammy early-morning air. It took four cups of tea to banish the worst of it from his limbs, which didn't help his mood in the least since coffee, he felt, would have done the job more efficiently. Stuffing his hands into his sleeves, he stalked the halls, wanting the sun to rise higher so he could sit in an obliging patch of sun without being quite so obvious about it.

He'd made it halfway around the veranda towards his office when he happened to glance down at the orchards, and noticed a small figure crouched under one of the apple trees.

"Are you stealing fruit again?" Sanzo didn't yell, not quite, but Goku jumped guiltily anyway and straightened up as Sanzo approached, grass crunching under sandaled feet. He didn't say anything, only stood there looking mournfully over his shoulder. Sanzo was impatient to get to his office, where the window faced east and there was a brazier stashed in one of the cupboards. He didn't have time for this crap. "Well? Answer me! It's too early for this stupidity."

"It's frozen." Goku's face tilted up again, and Sanzo followed the boy's gaze up to the just-ripe apples overhead, now covered in a glistening fuzz of frost. "It's not supposed to freeze this early, is it? I didn't want winter to come just yet..." He shifted from one foot to the other, a little worried frown puckering his brow.

"Idiot. They'll be fine." To illustrate, Sanzo reached up and picked the closest apple, immediately regretting it when his hand closed around the cold, wet fruit. Ugh. He passed it to Goku and quickly put his hand back in his sleeve, surreptitiously crossing his arms a bit tighter.

Goku flinched at the cold touch as well, which mollified Sanzo somewhat. He rubbed the apple with a corner of his jacket, rolling it around in his hands until it was dry and shone deep red. His expression smoothed, a rare moment of still satisfaction as he inspected the fruit, which was large enough to fill both his hands. "It's still too cold to eat. I'll save it for later." With that, the apple disappeared into one of his voluminous pockets, and Goku scuttled away from the tree. "Hey, Sanzo."

Sanzo turned, heading back uphill towards the veranda. "What now? Eat that apple if you're hungry."

"I'm freezing!" That was all the warning Sanzo got as he was tackled sideways at waist-height. Goku burrowed under his left arm, his head pushing at Sanzo's elbow. He peered up from the space between Sanzo's arms and his chest (Sanzo refused to take his hands back out of his sleeves, even to beat the stupid monkey) and the pleading look on his face gave Sanzo a split-second of deja vu. It was enough to make him pause, enough for Goku to tighten his arms that little bit more. "Can I stay inside with you today?"

"Idiot! Get off of me!" Grumpiness returned and Sanzo kept walking, but Goku just shuffled along, still glued to his midriff. "I mean it, let go or you're dead meat!" Goku grinned and didn't budge. He'd figured out remarkably fast which threats Sanzo actually meant and which ones were just for show.

"Nope! You're nice and warm. I'll be good, I promise! I'll even stay away from your desk... I know you've got that heating thingy nobody else's allowed to have, c'mon, please!" The barrage of promises and requests continued all the way up the steps, down the corridor, and by then it was pointless to argue. Sanzo resigned himself to getting very little done that morning. Maybe by lunchtime it would be warm enough to kick the idiot out without making him whine too much.

And anyway, he was warmer now.


End file.
